Liquid dispensing apparatus, including flexible tube compressor



may my 1955 J. A. ELLER ETAL 2,709,542

LIQUID DIsPENsING APPARATUS, INCLUDING FLEXIBLE TUBE COMPRESSOR Filed oet. 25, 1952 INVENTORS .fof/N A, auf/P '41 f5 Just-PH .5. Ron/RL LQUiD DESPENSING APPARATUS, INCLUDING FLEXIBLE TUBE COMPRESSOR `iohn A. lEiier, Astoria, and Joseph S. Roellrl, Long Island City, N. Y.

Application Uctober 23, 1952, Serial No. 316,458

2 Claims. (Cl. 222-209) The present invention relates to a novel eXible tube compressor adapted to be used in combination with flexible tubing for controlling the ow of liquid thereto. Also, included as part of the present invention is a novel liquid dispensing apparatus wherein the novel compressor is an essential element of said apparatus.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the combinations and improvements pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

An object of our invention is to provide a novel ilexible tube compressor adapted to be slipped over a flexible tube adjacent an end so as to pinch the tube to prevent the tlow of liquid thereto, said compressor including means whereby the pinch action on the tube may be manually released to allow the tlow of liquid therethrough at a uniform rate.

A further object of our invention is to provide a novel flexible tube compressor which is simple in construction, cheap to manufacture and is highly eicient in controlling the flow of liquid through a flexible tube.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel liquid dispensing apparatus, including as an essential element our novel flexible tube compressor, by which liquid may be dispensed from said apparatus at a uniform rate so as to provide an even distribution of said liquid on. an object being treated with said liquid.

'he accompanying drawing, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrates one embodiment of the invention and, together with the description, serves to explain the principles of the invention.

Fig. l is a perspective view of one embodiment of our novel dispensing apparatus, including our novel tube compressor having a needle attachment at its `outer end.

Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section through our novel tube compressor and the flexible tubing passing therethrough, said section being taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l, said compressor having a spray attachment in place of the needle attachment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical, transverse section taken along line 3-3 of Pig. 2. v

Fg. 4 is a perspective view of a brush attachment which may be substituted in place of a needle attachment of Fig. l. y

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a telescoping tube arrangement which may be used in accordance with the present invention.

ln the dispensing of liquids, such as in the cosmetic field, it is necessary to provide means for intermittently stopping and permitting the iiow of liquid though iiexible tubing which is part of the dispensing apparatus. ln dispensing liquids, such as cold waving solutions and hair coloring compositions, care must be taken so that the liquid may be dispensed without the necessity of the States Patent operators hands coming in contact with said liquid for prolonged periods of time since said liquid may have a detrimental eifect on the skin, as well as staining the hands or leaving unpleasant odors. This is particularly important in the case of professional beauty operators whose profession necessitates the constant use of such compositions. Furthermore, the dispensing apparatus, to be highly ethcient and to give the best results, should dispense the liquid uniformly so that an even distribution 't of said liquid on the object being treated is obtained.

Prior to our invention, various dispensing apparatus have been used to dispense cosmetic liquids, such as those above referred to, but none has met with a great deal of success. One reason is that many of such devices were too complicated and expensive to be of much practical utility. Another defect Was the failure of such devices to dispense the liquids uniformly so as to provide an even distribution of the liquid being dispensed.

In order to overcome the defects of the prior liquid dispensing apparatus, we have invented a novel dispensing apparatus including as the paramount element a novel flexible tube compressor. In general, the novel exible tube compressor comprises a longitudinal tube supporting member adapted to support a exible tube and a resilient leaf spring member having a tube engaging portion so as to provide a pinch action to the tube when in its normal position, thus preventing liquid therethrough, said leaf spring member including means whereby the pressure on said tube may be released by a simple direct manipulation by the operator so as to permit the tiow of liquid through said tube. Accordingly, the rate of flow through the tube will depend upon the amount of pressure release on said tube by the manual operation of the operator. Also, by maintaining the pressure release constant, the flow of liquid will be uniform and an even distribution of said liquid is obtained. Advantageously, the novel tube compressor includes means whereby different attachments may be connected to the outer end of the tube, depending upon the particular desire of the operator.

Qur novel dispensing apparatus includes a container for holding the liquid to be dispensed, a flexible tube having one end immersed in the liquid to be dispensed with the other end connected to our novel tube compressor referred to above, and means for pumping the liquid from said container upwardly through said tube so that it may be discharged through the outer end of said tube.

in order to describe our invention more specifically reference is now made to the drawings. Liquid 1 is contained in a receptacle 2 having an air tight cover 3. Liquid l is pumped from container 2 through glass tube i and flexible tube 5 by means of a bulb construction for creating a pressure on the liquid in the container. The bulb construction comprises a conventional flexible bulb 6 having valves 6 and 6" in the front and the rear, said bulb 6 being connected to an air collector or reservoir '7 by means of connecting tube 8. A flexible tube 9 is connected to the air reservoir 7 at one end and to a sealing cork lil at its other end, said sealing cork lll being secured to cover 3. A short glass tube 11 is connected to flexible tube 9 at one end and extends through cover 3 so that its other end extends into the receptacle 2 but is spaced above the top surface of liquid f I. The lower end of glass tube 4 is submerged in liquid il while its upper end is connected to the flexible tube 5, said exible tube 5 having one end connected to a second sealing cork l2 secured to cover 3 and having its other end connected to tube compressor 13.

As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the tube compressor 13. .includes an inverted, U-shaped in cross section, channelI member which acts as a tube support i4, said `suppert'ifl having two spaced holes and 15 in its horizontal plate 17 through which tube 5 passes, the portion of tube 5 extending between said holes being supported by middle section 17 of plate 17.

A pinch action is provided on the tube S near its outer end by means of an upwardly projecting member 19 of a resilient leaf or flat spring 18 which bears against tube S so as to pinch said tube between said projecting member 19 and the outer section 17" of plate 17. Moreover, the leaf spring 1S has an integral body member 2d connected to one end of said projecting member 19 and a vertical actuating member 21 connected to its other end. rhe body has a dat end which is secured to section 17 by means of pin 22. Vertical actuating member 2 extends laterally of said body Ztl and projecting member 19 and is provided with a centrally located hole 23 through which tube 5 extends, the outer end of said tube being connected to nozzle 234iA by means of a reduced tapered rear member 25 extending into said outer end.

The nozzle 24 is also provided with a reduced front member 26 which is externally threaded and upon which spray 27 is screwed thereon. Moreover, the nozzle 2d is supported in the head 29 of casing Ztl, the inner ends of the body 30 of said casing tapering inwardly at 31 to rest against the tube 5 and be supported by it.

Attached to actuating member 21 by means of integral neck 32 is push button 33. As shown in Fig. 2, the leaf spring in its normal position provides a pinch action on said tube due to the pressure by projecting member 19 against said tube so as to pinch said tube between said projecting member and sectlon 17 of the plate. At this point, the flow of liquid through the tube 5 is prevented. On the application of a downward pressure on push button 33, the projecting member 19 moves away from tube 5 thus releasing pressure on said tube 5 so that the tube has a continuous passageway through which liquid passes and is discharged through the nozzle 24 and spray 27. It should be realized that the pressure release on tube 5 may be a partial. release or a full release depending upon the pressure applied to push button 33 which in turn governs the displacement of projecting member 19 from the tube 5. Of course, if the pressure release is full the projecting member 19 is free of engagement with the tube 5 and a greater rate of flow of liquid is obtained than when the pressure release is partial, that is there is a continuous passageway in the tube but wherein the projecting member still engages the tube so as to apply a pressure thus restricting the cross section of the passageway at that point. j

Preferably, the tube support and leaf spring are shown as separate parts since this is the most practical and economical construction. lf so desired, however, these parts may be integral and still be within the scope of the present invention. Also, any desired attachment may be used in connection with the present device. For example, in place of the spray attachment 27 as shown in Fig. 2, a needle attachment 34 as shown in Fig. l may be used or a brush attachment 3S as shown in Fig. l.

The mode of operatic-n of our novel dispensing device is as follows. The container 1 is supported in any desirable manner such as on a table. The bulb e is squeezed by one hand while the tube compressor is held and operated by the other hand. On the squeezing of bulb 6, valve 6 which had been opened now closes thus air flows through tube 8 into reservoir '7 and through tube 9 and tube 10 into the receptacle 1 to create an external pressure on the liquid 1. On the release of pressure on the bulb 6, the valve 6 opens so that more air may enter the bulb to ll the bulb so that more air pressure may be furnished. when needed; The provision of reservoir 7 maintains the external pressure on the liquid 1 constant regardless of how often the bulb 6 is squeezed and regardless of whether or not a uniform pressure is applied to the bulb 6.011 each squeezing operation.

Due to the external pressure on liquid 1, liquid is forced through glass tube 4 and flexible tube 5. vThe flow of such liquid is prevented, however, at the portion of the tube 5 where the tube is pinched between the projecting member 19 and section 17. A downward pressure v1s then applied on push button 33 so as to release pressure on tube 5 by moving the projecting member away from said tube. When the desired rate of flow through the nozzle 24 and spray 27 is obtained, the pressure on the push button 33 is maintained constant so that a uniform rate of How is obtained and the liquid is evenly distributed. When it is desired to shut off the flow of liquid, the pressure on the push button is released and the leaf spring snaps back to its original position so as to again pinch the tube.

In place of the single tube 4, a telescopic tube arrange ment may be used comprising an inner tube 36, an outer tube 37 connected by a rubber ring 38. Preferably, the inner tube '1s provided with a screen cap at its lower end for preventing the flow of solid material through said inner tube. The advantage of such a tube construction is that it can be adjusted for containers differing in height and also for different liquid levels in a container.

The leaf spring may be made of any resilient material desired such as metals, alloys. or plastics. 1Preferably, it is made from stainless steel which has been tempered.

It should be realized that applicants are not the iirst to use a pinch action compressor for controlling the flow of liquid through a tlexible tube. Nor are applicants the first to use a spring construction for applying a pinch action on flexiblev tubing as evidenced by the prior patent to Jackson 2,112,625. Applicants are the first, however, to provide a tube compressor wherein a leaf or flat spring construction is utilized whereby the number of .moving parts are kept at a minimum thus preventing excessive wear of the compressor as well as eliminating the chance of play between the parts which is often the case wherein a number of coacting parts are present. By using applicants tube compressor, the rate of flow of liquid through a flexible tube may be controlled easily and directly by the mere manipulation of a push button. Furthermore, by the present construction, the pinching action of the tube is superior to those of the prior devices; hence, there is no danger of undesirable dripping of liquid from the end of the tube when the flow of liquid has been shut off by applicants compressor. The use of applicants tube compressor in combination with the dispensing device previously described, provides a novel dispensing, especially adapted for use in dispensing liquids in the cosmetic field, since the liquid dispensed is distributed evenly which is a most important feature for dispensing liquids of the type referred to.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific combinations and improvements described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages.

We claim:

l. A tube compressor adapted to be used in combination with a flexible tube for controlling the ow of liquid therethrough comprising, a tube support member including a horizontal plate member having two spaced holes through which one end of the tube is adapted to pass, the section of said plate between said holes adapted to provide a rest for the portion of the tube between said holes, a leaf spring member connected to said horizontal plate at one end and having at its other end a projecting member adapted to apply an external pressure on said tube when said spring is in its normal position so as to pinch the tube between said projection and said horizontal plate so as to prevent the flow of liquid through said tube, and an integral actuating member so that when a downward pressure is applied to said actuating member the projecting member moves away from saidtube torelease the pressure thereon,

thus permitting the'ow of liquid through said tube, a cas-A ing enclosing said tube support and said leaf spring member, said casing comprising a body and a head and wherein a nozzle is tted in the interior of said head, said nozzle having a rear member on which the outer end of said tube is adapted to be fitted and an externally threaded front member on which an attachment is adapted to be screwed.

2. A liquid dispensing apparatus adapted to be used in dispensing liquids in the cosmetic tield comprising, a closed container adapted to hold the liquid to be dispensed, a ilexible tube having one end section immersed in the liquid in said container and the other end section connected to a tube compressor, means for pumping said liquid from said container up through said flexible tube, said tube compressor comprising, a tube support member including a horizontal plate member having two spaced holes through which one end of the tube is adapted to pass, the section of said plate between said holes adapted to provide a rest for the portion of the tube between said holes, a leaf spring member connected to said horizontal plate at one end and having at its other end a projecting member engaging said tube to apply an external pressure on said tube so as to pinch said tube between said projection and said horizontal plate, thus preventing the ow of liquid through said tube, and an integral actuating member so that when a downward pressure is applied to said actuating member the projecting member moves away from said tube to release the pressure thereon, thus permitting the ow of liquid through said tube, a casing enclosing said tube sup port and said leaf spring member, said casing comprising a body and a head and wherein a nozzle is fitted in the interior of said head, said nozzle having a rear member on which the outer end of said tube is adapted to be fitted and an externally threaded front member on which an attachment is adapted to be screwed.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

